Improvement in car-pushers



C. A. R. L. VERGENIUS.

CAR-PUSHER. No.175,809. Patented March 28,1876.

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MPETERS. PNOTD-LITHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. D C- UNIT D" STATES PATENTOrrron.

CHRISTIAN A/R. VERGENIUS, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

' IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-PUSHERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 175,309, dated March28, 1876; application filed January 11, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be :it known that I, CHRISTIAN ANDERSON RosMUs LAURELI VERGENIUS, of thecity of Springfield, county of Clarke and State of Ohio, haveinventedcertain Improvements in Oar-Pushers, of which the following is aspecification:

My invention relates to a car-pusher constructed with a double eccentricpivoted centrally i'n the middle of the jack or pusher and having adouble thrust or throw in opposite directions, when operated by thelever-handle attached thereto.

The end pieces of the body of the jack or pusher are slotted and flangedso as .to move on the main side pieces in line therewith when operated.The ends of the car-pusher are of peculiar and novel construction. Theyare both swiveled in their.conneotions, and the upper or clamp end isfurther provided with a universal joint, made so that it can be easilydetached when required. At this end is a pair of jaws, made to close theangle formed by the end of the car. They are armed with teeth which biteinto the wood, (at'the lower corner,) fastening the clamp firmly enoughto the car to prevent its being detached while operating the pusher. Theclamping-jaws, when attached, are locked by a small eccentric lever. Thelower end of my car-pusher has a forked foot which straddles the rail.11: is formed of two fluted steel cones. These have their stem ends orjournals inserted in acast fork-piece,'whicl 1 is bored out to receivethem. Their journals are grooved, and approach near enough together toallow a bolt to pass between them through the groove, so as to securethem in the fork-piece, and yet allow them to turn around on their axes.A lock-latch preventsthem from turning in ward, but allows their beingturned in opposite directions. The object of this construction istoallow of the easy lifting of the foot of the pusher when operating, andenable it, by means of the rollin g fluted cone-points, to present a newand sharp bitingedge on the rollers at each movement against the rail.

To provide for the operation of the jack at the crossings, the points ofthe cones are made of square or pyramidal shape, to cause them to enterthe wooden plank when the body of the cones cannot touch the surface ofthe rail.

The rotating cones are not liable to have their angles ground ofi orbroken, as ina rigid foot.

The ends of the frame being swiveled in the head and foot piece allow-itto be rotated after the. jack is set, so that the operating-lever can beused either between or outside of the cars.

In operating my car-pusher or push-jack it is set at an angle of aboutthirty-six degrees, more or less, its length adapting it to the variousheights of cars.

Figure 1 shows a rear section of a car with my car-pusher appliedthereto for operation. Fig. 2 shows the upper half-section O from thetop. Fig. 3 is an end view of one of the rollers r. Fig. 4 is a sideview of the same. Fig. 5 is a side view of one of the square blocks orboxes K, fastened between the ends of the side plates a, (through slotsh,) with its bolt 1'. Fig. 6 is a side view of the lower slidinghalf-section c. Fig. 7 is a cross-section of the same through the dottedline a; y. Fig. 8 is a section of one of the side plates a, showing theinside of the same. Fig. 9 is a top view of the operating or hand leverand eccentric. Fig.

10 is a section of one of the side plates, includin g its central part.Fig. 11 is a cross-section of the same and section Fig. 8 through theline 2 z.

A is the car-pusher or push-jack; B, the rail of a railroad track. 0 isa section of a railroad-car, showing the lower rear corner of the same.

From the foot or forkpiece a to the headpiece d extends the ironframe-pieces which form the body of the jack or pusher. They consist offour pieces-two side pieces, a, which are united by bolts extendingthrough the ends, and a central bolt on which is pivoted the doubleeccentric a. Between these side pieces a, and extending from the middleeach way to the head 01 and foot a, so as to complete the body of thejack, are seen the pieces 0 and c, the latter being the head and theformer the foot ends of the same. The construction of these pieces maybe readily seen by reference to Figs. 2 and 6 in the details. [n Fig. 1the car pusher or jack is shown partially extended.

It will be noticed that the pieces 0 and c are both mortised or slottedtransversely,these slots h showing their openings at the ends of theside bar or plate a; also seen in Figs. 2 and 6. Through these slotsextends a block or box, square in its cross-section k, and a bolt, 2',passing through it, and the ends of the side plates a secure the blockin its position and fasten the side pieces 0. together. The block itforms a sliding bearing for the pieces 0 and c at these points. On thetop and bottom sides of c and c", and surrounding the slot in which theeccentric operates, is a raised flange, j, the edges of which pro jectsidewise over the side plates a, which forms an upper and lower bearingfor the inner ends which come together when the jack is contracted. Theends are curved out to leave room for them to meet over the hub h of theeccentric a, as shown in Fig.6. These pieces being made T-shape, andcast of malleable iron, as is also the side pieces a, forkpiece a, clampd, and eccentric a. The whole is light and very strong, being capable ofmoving six loaded cars at one time on a level grade. A roller, 1', issecured by a bolt in the inner end of the sections 0 and c. This worksin the slot b of the eccentric on each side of its center. The slotsbare alternate in their positions, as seen in Fig. 1, so that they giveto each of the pieces 0 and c a thrust endw ise when the lever l isoperated. The hubof the roller r, or raised boss, which is seen on theright end of the piece 0 outside opposite the roller, and is also shownin the cross-section, Fig. 7, moves in a depression, u, in the sideplates a. (See Figs. 8 and 11.) The upper end of c is provided with asemi-spherical head, i, which is cast on it. One side projects beyondthe grooved neck, so that it can be hooked into and detached from theclamp d. It is held in the clamp by a pin, i. The clamp d is formed ofthe two jaw-pieces e and e, e constituting the main or head piece. Theyare hinged together by a bolt near their inner angle. Each is providedwith teeth and a pointed set-screw s to fasten them to the wood of thecarrbody c, which is shown with the corner broken out to give a view ofthe position of the teeth and set-screws s. The head-piece e isprolonged below, and has a small eccentric lever, f, pivoted to itslower end.

The lower jaw e is made of bracket shape, its

lower end being curved to receive the eccen-. tric of lever f, whichforces its teeth up into the bed-rail of the car-body 0 when the lever fis thrown up to the right, as seen in Fig. 1, which gives a view of thejack in the operative position. The ball end of c, it will be noticed,is turned with its projecting or hook part up. When necessary towithdraw it from the head-piece, the latter is thrown downward andinward towardthe bodyof the jack, and the piece easily unhooked after"the jack is turned with its lever l downward. The. opening in thehead-piece e is beveled out to give free movement to the connection.Fig. 9 shows a top view of lover I and the eccentric a. The latter isprovided with a hub on each side, h, to strengthen its .center andprevent any lateral movement. Figs. 10 and 11 show sectional views ofthe side pieces a. These are grooved and ribbed in the full-sizedmachine to give them additional strength, be

ing made thin and light for ease and conven-' ience in handling thejack. The fork-piece a, which is also made as light as is consistentwith strength, has its upper end bored out to receive the end i"! of thepiece c,'Fi gs. 1 and 6. A groove is turned in the journal i" to receivethe end of the set-screw s, soas to allow the foot a to be easilyrotated without detaching it. The lower ends of. the fork are also boredout for the reception of similar journaled ends a of the flutedcone-points t, the inner ends of which nearlytonch each other. The boltb is inserteddown through the groove, turned in them, between thejournals, also confining the lockingelatch g, which drops over the piecea between the cones, and prevents their turning inward,but allowing freerotation outward, acting on the fluted angles of the cones much in themanner of a pawl.

To operate the car-pusher or push-jack, the lever l is raised, whichdraws the sections '0' and 0 together in the'center. It is then set onthe rail against the car, as shown, and the lever thrown down, whichforce s-the car ahead on the rails. The lever is again quickly raisedand the operation repeated, the foot being lifted forward on the railabout six inches at each contractile movement.

I am aware that car-pushers .for forcing the car ahead by theimpingement pf the foot upon the rail when set at an angleagainst thecarbody are not new, and I do not claim the same broadly as my inventionbut What I claim asmy improvement is 1. The double eccentric a with itsattached lever l, constructed, as shown and specified, as and for thepurpose hereinbefore set forth.

2. The double eccentric a. with its slots 1), in combination withthesliding sections 0 and c, and the side plates a,..with theiraccessory parts, for producing the double-thrust movementin acar-pusher, as shown and specified, for the purpose set forth.

3. The section a, with its grooved journal 1", slot 11., block k, andbolt .9, and roller 1", as shown and described.

4. The section a, with its semi-spherical head i, constructed as shown,with its parts h k i and roller 1", as shown and described.

5. The clamp d, with jaws e and e, which form the head of the car-pusheror push-jack,

with its pin 1', eccentric lever f, and set-screws s, as shown andspecified, for the purpose set forth.

6. In combination with the upper section of a car-pusher or push-jack,the clampingdevice shown and specified, as and for the purpose setforth. I

7. The fork-piece a, with its bolt b, latch g, and set-screw s,constructed as specified.

8. The fluted steel cone-pieces t, constructed substantially as shownand described, and operated in the manner specified, as and for thepurpose set forth.

9. In combination with the fork-piece a of a car-pusher, with its boltb, latch 91, and setscrew .9, the rotating cone-pieces t, with theirapproximating journals a, secured together and operated as specified.

10. In combination with the lower section 0 of a car-pusher orpush-jack, the forked foot-piece a, with its operative parts b g s, andthe fluted rolling cone-pieces t, constructed substantially as setforth.

11. In the construction of a car-pusher or push-jack, operated asspecified, the combination of the double eccentric a, with its slots 12,sections 0 and c, with their detailed parts, hereinbefore described, theside plates a, with their connecting parts, and the clamping-head d, andfoot (1, all arranged and operated, substantially as hereinbefore setforth, for the purpose specified.

CHRISTIAN ANDERSON ROSMUS LAURELI VERGENIUS.

Attest:

B. G. CONVERSE, M. M. CONVERSE.

